8 Suspected Coronavirus Patients, Including 5 Passengers, Isolated in Pakistan

Pakistan’s Health Ministry has been on high alert since the Coronavirus first broke out in Wuhan. Medical staff deployed at all airports evaluate every passenger for symptoms of Coronavirus who comes from a foreign land.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been assisting the medical staff at all airports and has set up thermal scanners to identify potential Coronavirus carriers.

5 Passengers Suspected for Coronavirus

Doctors from CMH Lahore tested every passenger of Etihad Airlines flight EY-243 from Abu Dhabi which landed at Allama Iqbal International Airport in the early hours on Friday.

According to reports, at least four passengers, two Pakistani and two Chinese, were found to be potential virus carriers. All suspected patients have been quarantined at a special ward at Services Hospital.

Moreover, doctors have sent the test samples of all suspected patients to the National Institute of Health (NIH) at Islamabad for further evaluation.

At the Islamabad International Airport, a Pakistani passenger, who came from Yunnan, China, was found to have unusually high body temperature upon arrival.

Medical staff immediately shifted the passenger to the isolation ward at PIMS over fear of Coronavirus.

3 Admitted to PIMS

According to Dr. Waseem Khawaja, spokesperson for PIMS, three people have been quarantined after they were admitted to PIMS for exhibiting symptoms of Coronavirus.

Dr. Waseem Khawaja said:

We have sent the test samples of 2 locals and a Chinese national to NIH for further evaluation. All 3 patients have been kept in the isolation ward at PIMS.

Test reports of another Chinese national, who had been admitted to PIMS for pneumonia, have turned out to be negative, PIMS spokesperson has confirmed. The patient will be released from the hospital after completing the necessary 2-week isolation period.

No Confirmed Case of Coronavirus in Pakistan

Although some suspected cases of Coronavirus have been reported in Pakistan, none of the suspected patients were diagnosed with the deadly virus that has killed more than 600 people so far.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health, Dr. Zafar Mirza, convened a meeting of Emergency Core Group of the Ministry of Health to evaluate the measures undertaken to contain the Coronavirus from spreading in Pakistan.

Dr. Zafar Mirza said:

I am personally overseeing the screening of travelers at airports and ensuring all protocols are in place. We have significantly increased the strength of health staff at airports to further augment the screening process.

The Special Assistant on Health shot down rumors of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Pakistan and requested the nation to not heed fake news.

Dr. Zafar Mirza added:

NIH has received 25 samples of Coronavirus suspects. None of the samples were tested positive for the virus. There is no confirmed case of Novel Coronavirus in Pakistan at the moment.

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